Jessica Block’s practice focuses on employment and commercial litigation and alternative dispute resolution. She serves as arbitrator and mediator on all manner of employment disputes. She represents individual professionals, small businesses, and foreign and national corporations, in the following areas:

• Covenants not to compete and non-solicitation agreements
• Executive compensation
• Severance agreements
• Change of Control Agreements
• Accommodation for clients with disabilities
• Gender, racial, ethnic, disability and religious discrimination
• Sexual harassment claims and investigations
• Employment rights of ex-patriots
• Employment contract disputes
• Legal Ethics
• Breach of fiduciary duty
• Defamation
• Termination in violation of public policy
• Retaliation claims under the antidiscrimination statutes and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
• Wages and Hours Act, WARN Act, ERISA rights and other common law claims
• Partnership break-ups
• Disputes among shareholders of closely held corporations
• Joint venture disputes
• Commercial contract matters
• Financial fraud
• Billing and vendor disputes

In addition, she has prosecuted claims against professional disability carriers for refusal to pay disability insurance and handled a number of professional malpractice claims, having served two terms as a hearing officer for the Board of Bar Overseers. She has represented, in internal administrative proceedings, professors involved in accusations of scientific fraud.  Her clients include financial services and insurance industry professionals, technology and biotech professionals, investment firms, condominium associations, executive search firms, lawyers, bankers, accountants, not-for-profits, ministers, and a wide spectrum of others.

Ms. Block strives to achieve prompt, practical, cost-effective solutions and closure. Client communication and satisfaction are her paramount concerns. Through a reasoned approach, she has settled many matters out of court to clients’ satisfaction without the necessity of filing a lawsuit, often preserving past and prospective relationships. Where alternative dispute resolution was not feasible, Ms. Block has prosecuted and defended cases in federal and state courts, the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination and other forums. She has achieved a number of six-figure settlements after litigation commenced and, along with a team of lawyers, a seven-figure settlement. Ms. Block is trained and has served as a mediator, is a member of the Business Dispute Resolution section of the Massachusetts Collaborative Law Council and is an approved neutral for the American Arbitration Association and the MBA Fee Arbitration Board.  She has acted as arbitrator in connection with claims involving "just cause" for dismissal, executive compensation contracts, fiduciary obligations in close corporations, benefits under ERISA, FMLA claims and employment discrimination.

Ms. Block has been practicing law for 26 years, including with several large Boston law firms where she maintained a business litigation practice and handled a wide range of cases. In 2006, 2007 and 2008 she was voted by her peers as a Massachusetts Super Lawyer and listed in Boston Magazine. . The “Super Lawyer” honor is bestowed upon the top 5% of lawyers in the state who have achieved a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.

Before founding Block & Roos, LLP with Jessica Block, Sig Roos was a partner in one of Boston’s largest law firms. Having worked in that setting as well as in a fast-paced, mid-sized firm specializing in commercial litigation, Sig appreciates the demands of complex litigation. He now applies the skills honed during his 25 year career toward handling a wide range of matters including:

• Business litigation
• Complex commercial litigation
• Real Estate Syndication Litigation
• Law firm collections
• Partnership and close corporation disputes
• Securities litigation
• Shareholder disputes
• Professional licensure and misconduct

Sig's skills as a negotiator, his facility with the law and the rules of procedure, and his no-nonsense approach in court have achieved results that have gained him the respect of clients, judges, and attorneys throughout Massachusetts.

Sig's roster of clients includes several national law firms, a Fortune 500 corporation, and one of the country's leading real estate investment firms. His work for these companies ranges from partnership and shareholder actions to non-competition and general contract disputes, to consumer disputes and collection matters. He also has had extensive experience representing attorneys, physicians, nurses, veterinarians, research faculty, and other professionals in licensing and research integrity matters.

In 2008 Sig Roos was named one of the Top 100 Boston Lawyers by Boston Magazine and was named a Super Lawyer each year since 2005 by Boston Magazine. The “Super Lawyer” honor is bestowed upon the top 5% of lawyers in the state who have achieved a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.

While not at work, Sig serves as a Chair of the Hampshire College Board of Trustees. For the past 8 years, Sig has spent a week each year volunteering his time as a teaching team member at the Harvard Law School Trial Advocacy Workshop. He also enjoys hiking and kayaking with his wife and children on the coast of Maine.